There’s a fire that burns in “Bleed For This,” the latest boxing-story-to-screen movie about boxer Vinny Pazienza, who suffered what should’ve been not only a career-ending but life-ending car accident and his insane decision to once again enter the ring. His perseverance and commitment to the sport he loved so much is the fuel that not only made him dig so deep, but which clearly also inspired the creative talents in this movie to give their very best, as Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, and director Ben Younger are all heart in this inspirational sports drama that’s a little bit more.
Rhode Island-proud Pazienza (Teller) is clearly the showboat type, as fast on his feet as he is with his mouth. After a few early successes, he decides to go for the Belt, enlisting the help of trainer Kevin Rooney (Eckhart) and becoming world champ. As he continues to train for the next competition, Pazienza is struck by his biggest blow yet–a head-on collision that puts him in critical condition. When he stabilizes, he is given the options of either fusing his spine, the safest measure to ensure walking, or having Halo surgery – literally screwing a cage around his head that would attach to his shoulders, which would allow his spine to fix naturally. Despite the doctor’s concerns and simply human reason, Vinny is convinced that the second option gives him a better chance of returning to the only thing that makes him happy: boxing.
This underdog against-all-odds training story could have been enough to focus on, but director Ben Younger extends the scope of “Bleed For This” even further to show more of Vinny’s world. The film lives congruent to the world that David O. Russell built with “The Fighter,” similarly giving multiple people close to the boxing champ their onscreen moments to craft more of a familial drama rather than a personal one. Younger opens up the story to include the relationships between his father Angelo (Ciarán Hinds) and mother Louise (Katey Sagal), but the strongest connection comes from Rooney (Eckhart). Eckhart transforms into a character we’ve never seen, literally, adding weight and a prosthetic nose makes him nearly unrecognizable. Whereas this connection between boxer and trainer should be perhaps the most intimate in a film like this, other relationships (like the ones with his parents) seem to crowd this space, which, although are fantastic performances, lessen the effect of Vinny’s personal struggle.
“Bleed For This” has a ferocious dedication to these relationships and the actual true-life events, making this movie one to spar with. Younger’s desire to make this more than just a boxing movie and to extract these character relationships gives the film a bit more to play with. Although, like the success of the seminal “Rocky,” one has to wonder what this movie could have been if this was developed as a “Miles Teller vehicle,” perhaps focusing a little more on the grittiness of Vinny’s rehabilitation and his head-on fight with mortality (coincidentally, Teller has both a personal history of car accident injuries, which also showed up in a previous film, “Whiplash”). However, “Bleed For This” makes its case for being a movie that goes a full twelve rounds in dedication and heart.
116 min. “Bleed For This” is rated R for language, sexuality/nudity, and some accident images. In theaters this Friday.
